I know when they wake up this morning they are going to look for bread. So my Braided Bread was the perfect alternative, nothing beats homemade.
Easy Braided Bread
This Easy Braided Bread was soft and delicious. I couldn’t resist eating a slice of warm bread with a spread of butter. I am definitely going to make bread more often from now on. I absolutely love it and it’s definitely a labour of love. Using a stand mixer does make bread baking so much easier but its perfectly ok to use your hands. The kneading is important when you’re looking for a soft bread. I must admit using bread flour is best for breads. It has a high protein content which helps with gluten development. It also gives bread a little stretch and chew. However, in saying all of this I have used Cake Wheat Flour and it works perfectly fine too. If you’re not in SA you can use all purpose flour.
Ingredients Required
Bread Flour, Cake Wheat Flour or All Purpose Flour, yeast, sugar, salt, butter, milk and water. I did not use any eggs in my bread and it still tasted great.
How to make the Bread
I usually add all my dry ingredients to a stand mixer, give it a quick mix and then add my liquids and soft butter. Knead for 5- 6 minutes in a stand mixer or slightly longer by hand. Let it rise for 1 hour or less, depending on the environment. The warmer the environment the quicker the rise. After the first rise I divide the dough into 3 pieces, roll them out into logs and braid them. It has to rise for a second time for about 30 minutes and then it is baked at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes. You can also choose to make these into smaller bread rolls if you wish.
Yeast
I prefer to use instant dry yeast, it is so much easier and I never have any fails using this. My favorite is the Anchor Yeast in the purple packet. It’s what I have been using forever and it works for me. For a quick rise I usually heat my oven at 100 degrees Celsius for a few minutes, just until I feel the oven is heating up and then turn it off. I then place my dough in the oven and it rise much quicker than an hour.
If you do try my Braided Bread Recipe please drop me a comment and leave a star rating, it is always appreciated. More Bread Recipes to try: Soft Burger Buns Soft Dinner Rolls Chocolate Cinnamon Buns If you loved this, please share!
